The Lost Empire of TWINS
by Yorkistgirl
Summary: On one stormy night when King Richard III is on the sea his ship is forced to take safety at one island near by. The island is inhabited by a race of twins. They are ruled by a King called Ramul who'll start to pretend that Richard is his long lost twin brother. However Richard doesn't like about the game which Ramul plays and he wants to leave the island but Ramul will not let him
1. Strange island

Mighty storm was raging outside of King Richard's cabin and the violent rocking of the ship was making him sick. He hated sailing since it always reminded him about his flight to mainland when members of the house of Lancaster were about to kill the Yorkists.

The sea had always been hostile at him and it made no difference on this time although he was not escaping from the Lancastrians.

Richard had agreed to visit personally some distant kingdoms which were allied with him and suddenly a great storm had laid its anger upon of them. It had been too late for them to turn back so had to face its rage. The sailors were shouting on the deck and sometimes their voices drowned under the roar of the thunder. Heavy rain was hammering the cabin's windows and for a moment Richard thought that it was about to break the glass.

He kneeled down on the floor and prayed God and all His saints to their aid.

- O Heavenly Father please lay your protective hand upon us and keep us save.

Then he heard that the lookout had spotted some land at the side of starboard but it couldn't be the eastern coast, they were still too far away. Richard prayed in his mind that the captain would change the course since the storm was not about to settle down.

He didn't care what land it might be but if it could offer a sanctuary to them he was more than willing to take it.

Soon he felt that the ship was turning and he thanked the captain for changing the course.

Eventually the raging storm left them alone and movement of the waves calmed down.

Richard stayed in his cabin for some time until he was sure that it was safe to go on to the deck.

The sky above of them was coal black and air was damp.

Men were still running up and down on the deck lighting up the lanterns now when the storm had faded away.

- I have never seen that island in any of my maps, said the captain when Richard joined him.

- What island could it be then?

- I have no idea your grace.

- Can we land on it?

- Let's hope so since the storm caused us plenty of damage.

Soon they reached sheltered bay of the island where it was safe to drop the anchor.

Some of the sailors took a small boat and they rowed to the beach after they had investigated some of their surroundings they gave a signal to the ship that it was safe to come.

Richard had never been happier to set his foot on solid ground.

Soon ratcheting campfire was on and its flames gave men the warmth they yearned for.

- Tomorrow we should investigate this island bit further if we could find something to repair the ship, captain suggested.

No one had anything against that and with this plan in their minds the men laid themselves to rest and soon they all fell asleep.

Richard woke up early on the next morning when the sound of marching men came into his dream.

He opened his eyes and saw a group of armed men marching towards of them.

Right away he was on his feet and shouted to his comrades to wake up since they were not alone anymore.

The men pulled out of their weapons and were ready to defend on themselves.

The captain of the guard to the soldiers to halt and he approached Richard. Richard didn't recognize the coloring of their uniforms or their flag, the ruler which these men were serving was totally stranger to him.

When the captain of the guard got closer to Richard his face grew pale. Quickly he made a deep bow and apologized the sudden disturbance.

- I'm truly sorry my noble lord that we appeared to you such dishonorably, he babbled.

Richard lowed down his sword and the other followed his example, it seemed that these soldiers were not about to harm them.

- Apology accepted my good man, could you please tell us where we are, Richard asked.

- You are at the island of Azrolion my lord. Please let us escort you to see your noble brother, I'm sure he'll be most pleased to see you at least.

This left Richard puzzled, what was the captain saying? A noble brother, who was he talking about? All of his brothers were long dead.

However he decided to follow the soldiers, they would surely show the way to the town where they could get help to repair their ship.


	2. King of twins

After one mile long walk they finally reached the city's gate. Richard looked at the gate which was an enormous sculpture of two giants who were holding each other's hands. He had never seen such huge work of art and it made him impressed. The city was big and its streets were full of people and when Richard took a closer look he made a peculiar observation. Quite many of the people were walking together like in pairs it wouldn't have been so strange unless all of them wouldn't have happen to been identical twins. They all wore same kind of clothes and looked exactly alike each other. No matter how much Richard tried he couldn't tell the difference between the pairs.

Soon the rest of his comrades noticed this same thing and they were as much amazed as he was.

- Welcome back my noble lord, said one man who came across to Richard.

Richard looked at him surprised but he had no time to ask what the man meant.

This was his first time in this city.

Soon they reached the gates of royal palace which stood right at the centre of the city.

When the gatekeepers saw Richard they opened the gate to him at once.

The captain of the guard took them into one of the chambers where he told them to wait for a moment.

- I wonder what this all means, Richard wondered aloud.

- What shall we do my lord if they decide to harm us, asked one of the sailors.

- I don't know we are very much on their mercy.

Suddenly two servants appeared to the chamber and they told them that they have come to clean them up for bit before meeting the King.

They shaved Richard's chin which haven't seen a razor for few days.

Then they gave them clean clothes and the most expensive looking tunic was reserved to Richard.

The cloth was milky white and it had some golden embroidery which made it to shine when the sun light touched it.

Soon the captain returned and asked Richard to follow him.

- I will not leave my comrades, Richard protested.

- But my lord your brother wants to meet you alone.

- If he really is my brother then he'll let me to have my comrades with me.

- Very well then, they may come with you my noble lord.

Richard and the rest were led to big throne room which was full of the members of nobility and on the highest seat sat the king himself.

When Richard looked at the king he wasn't able to believe his eyes, the man on the throne was like a splitting image of himself.

He also wore white and gold cloth which made him to look too much alike with Richard.

- His Royal Highness King Ramul of Azrolion, presented some of his servants.

Richard and Ramul watched on each other and nobody spoke for a while.

- Welcome back home my fair brother, the King greeted him and stepped down from his golden seat.

He walked right front of Richard and kissed softly his cheek.

Richard replied to his kiss and whispered to his ear:

- I hope you do know that I am not your brother.

Ramul ignored his words and gentle smile appeared to his face.

- May joyful music fill this hall which had been silent far too long. Let our minds be at ease since now it time for celebration! My long lost brother have finally come back home and everybody should be merry, he announced and right away the musicians started to play joyful tune.

Ramul took Richard from his arm and pulled him away from babbling crowd.

Behind of the throne was a secret passage which led to the King's private residence.

- Now here we can speak freely, said and gave a sharp look at Richard.

- What is going on in here? I'm not your brother, Richard pointed out and there was a hint of anger in his voice.

- I do know of that, replied Ramul.

- You do?

- Yes, in fact I don't even have a brother, Ramul continued and poured some wine for himself and to Richard.

- Then why this entire circus?

- For the sake of my people.

- I don't understand.

- Well, please sit down and let me tell you what problem I'm dealing with, Ramul asked and pointed an empty chair beside of him.

Richard took a comfortable position in his chair but he didn't dare to touch on his drink before he had seen Ramul to drink of it first.


End file.
